City approves $30,000 set‑aside from opioid settlement funds for Fresh Start shelter scholarships

The Junction City Commission approved setting aside $30,000 from the city’s municipal opioid settlement funds to pay treatment scholarships for clients of the Fresh Start emergency shelter. The action was approved by a voice vote during the meeting after staff and Fresh Start representatives described how the money would be applied.

Commissioners and staff said the allocation is intended as gap funding for community residents who lack insurance or other resources to enter substance‑use treatment. “If people don't have insurance … it might cost up to $6,000 to get them into treatment,” Fresh Start representative Debbie Savage told the commission. Savage said Fresh Start clients would apply to the shelter and then request support for specific treatment costs.

The commission’s presentation explained the funding source: a municipal share of national opioid litigation settlements the city has signed on to. City staff said the balance of the municipal opioid fund available for local use is $145,746.28. A staff member described the $30,000 figure as a recommended set‑aside arrived at after discussion among staff and the Fresh Start board and noted the commission would not deliver the full amount upfront.

Under the plan Savage described, Fresh Start would submit requests for individual scholarships to city staff for review and payment directly to treatment providers. A city staff member said, “We would send the money to the provider directly … and then we have a line item that says, ‘we get a receipt.’” City staff and the presenter said the Kansas Attorney General’s office and a designated assistant attorney general review how municipalities use settlement funds, so the city will document each expenditure.

Commissioners asked several procedural questions: whether applicants must exhaust other state or nonprofit resources before receiving the scholarship and how the city would account for payments. Staff said they would require Fresh Start to document prior attempts to secure other funding before granting city support and that payment records would be retained for AG review. Commissioners also emphasized the money is not general tax revenue but settlement proceeds, and staff said the funds are not replenishing and should be used carefully.

The motion to authorize the set‑aside was approved by a voice vote; the commission directed staff to coordinate an application checklist and review process with Fresh Start.

The city manager and Fresh Start officials said they will work on application forms and documentation procedures and will coordinate reporting to the city and any state reviewers responsible for settlement compliance.